“Tumhare bhai ne abhi 9 baje k karib b. vihar me 2 mulla mare hai...aur nale me fenke hai...apni team ke sath...tumhe pata hai na ki tumhara bhai sabse aage rahta hai aise kamo me.”
(I just killed two Muslims at around 9 pm in B Vihar...and threw them in the drain...with my team...you know that I am always at the forefront in such acts).
This message was sent at 11.49 PM on 26 February by Ganga Vihar resident Lokesh Solanki alias Rajput on a WhatsApp group called “Kattar Hindut Ekta”. This was in the middle of the Northeast Delhi riots.
At least nine people, most of them members of this WhatsApp group, have now been arrested by the Delhi Police for killing Muslims in Bhagirathi Vihar that falls under Gokulpuri Police Station.
Delhi Police recently filed three charge sheets – FIR numbers 102/20, 103/20 and 104/20 – in connection with three of these murders and it contains transcripts of a few WhatsApp conversations in the Kattar Hindut Ekta group. The police is considering the chats as “extra judicial confessions”, according to the charge sheet.
WhatsApp Chat
In the charge sheets, the police has said that the WhatsApp group was formed at “12.49 hours 25 February” – the second day of the violence. It comprised of 125 members, 47 of whom quit by 8 March.
Here’s an excerpt of a conversation in the WhatsApp group from 26 February. as shared in the charge sheets:
9:45 AM - Vinay alias Binni: sare taiyaar rho (Everyone be ready)
8:29 PM - Binni: Bhai taiyaar rho kaam start hone vala hai (Brother, be ready, the work is about to start)
8:29 PM - Binni: taiyaar rhosare (be ready, everyone)
8:30 PM - Binni: puliya se pipeline ki trf aarge hai suer (The pigs have come from the bridge towards the pipeline)
8:44 PM - +91 9********7: Aane du in mullo ka suar bna denge (Let them come, we’ll make pigs out of these Muslims)
10:22 PM - +91 7********4: Bhaio ye danga q ho raha h nale par abhi jo hua tha Jhoripur nale par (Why did the riot take place right now, the one near Johripur drain?)
10:24 PM - Vipin: Dikkat lag rhi he 6 no me sab ready rhena (There seems to be some trouble at 6 number, be ready)
11:39 PM - Lokesh: Bhai mai Ganga Vihar se Lokesh Solanki hu, agr kisi ko koi problem ho or wha log kam pde to bta dena mai apni puri Ganga Vihar ki team k saath aayunga sara saaman hai humare pass goli bandook sab kuch (Brother, I’m Lokesh from Ganga Vihar. If there’s any problem or if there’s anything you need then let me know, I’ll come with my entire Ganga Vihar team. We have all the stuff – bullets, guns, everything).
11:40 PM - Lokesh: Bhai pura support hai abhi Hindu bhaiyo ko (Brother, there is full support for Hindu brothers)
11:40 PM - Lokesh: Bilkul bhai Ganga Vihar Gokulpuri Johripur sb sath hai tumhare (Absolutely brother, Ganga Vihar, Gokulpuri, Johripur are all with you)
11:41 PM - +91 97*******6: 15 k dane h kya kisi bhai k pass (Does any brother have bullets for .315 pistol?)
11:41 PM - +91 95*******6: Monty Nagar.vcf
11:41 PM - +91 95*******6: Bahi ad kro bhai ktr hindu h yeh (Add him, he is a Hindu fanatic)
11:41 PM - Lokesh: Pistol hai
11:42 PM - Lokesh: Humare pass (We have)
11:42 PM - +91 97*******6: Faltu h kya (Do you have some spare?)
11:42 PM - +91 97*******6: Bhai goli h kya 315 ki (Do you have bullets for .315 pistol?)
11:44 PM Lokesh:
Tumhare Bhai ne abhi 9 bje k krib b. vihar m 2 mulla mare hai. Or nale m feka hai.Lokesh, Delhi riots accused as quoted in Charge Sheet 102/20
( Your brother has just killed 2 Muslims at around 9 PM in Bhagirathi Vihar and threw them in the drain)
11:44 PM - +91 9********7: Bilkul Lokesh bhai (Absolutely Lokesh Bhai)
11:44 PM - Lokesh: Apni team k sath (With my team)
11:44 PM - +91 7********4: Haa bhai (Yes brother)
11:45 PM - +91 9********7: Ha (Yes)
11:45 PM - +91 7********4: Rajput bhai Bhagirath Vihar me bande bhej do (Rajput Bhai, send men to Bhagirathi Vihar)
11:45 PM - Lokesh: Bhai abhi thodi aarhe hai hum sab raily lekr (We are coming there soon with a rally)
11:45 PM - Lokesh: B.vihar m (to Bhagirathi Vihar)
11:45 PM - +91 97*******6: Koi dikkt na h Bhaiyo (no problem, brothers)
11:49 PM - Lokesh: Vinay tumhe pta hai na tumhara Bhai sbse aage rhta hai aise kamo m (Vinay, you know that your brother is at the forefront in such matters)
The Murders
According to the charge sheet, nine Muslims are said to have been killed in Bhagirathi Vihar on 25 and 26 February. Here’s the sequence given by the police:
25 February
- 4-4.30 PM: Mursalin’s scooter was set on fire; he was killed and thrown in Bhagirathi Vihar Nala in Johripur bridge.
- 7 to 7.30 PM: Aas Mohammad was killed by the rioters and thrown in the Bhagirathi Vihar Nala. He was coming on foot from Loni, Ghaziabad.
- 7.30 to 8 PM: Rioters cut the electricity supply and in the dark, they attacked the house of Musharraf. They grabbed him and dragged him out into the street, where they beat him to death and threw him in the open drain.
- 9.30 PM: Aamin was killed by the rioters and thrown in the drain, near C Block Bhagirathi Vihar. He was coming on foot from Brijpuri bridge.
26 February
- 10.30 AM: Bhure Ali alias Salman was killed by the rioters and thrown in the drain near C-Block Bhagirathi Vihar while he was coming from Brijpuri bridge on foot.
- Around 9.15 PM: Hamza was killed by rioters while he was coming from Mustafabad to Bhagirathi Vihar. He was killed and his body thrown in the drain near E Block Bhagirathi Vihar.
- Around 9.30 PM: Akil Ahmed killed by rioters while coming on foot from Loni, Ghaziabad.
- Around 9.40 PM: Hashim Ali and his elder brother Aamir Khan killed by rioters.
Victims Forced to Chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ Many Times
The charge sheets filed recently are regarding FIR 102/20 that deals with the killing of Hamza, FIR 103/20 with Aamin’s murder and FIR 104/20 with the murder of Bhure Ali alias Salman.
The nine people arrested so far are: Lokesh Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Ankit Chaudhary alias Fauzi, Prince, Jatin Sharma alias Rohit, Himanshu Thakur, Vivek Panchal alias Nandu, Rishabh Chaudhary alias Tapas, and Sumit Chaudhary alias Badshah.
The charge sheets say that the accused intercepted the victims at certain fixed spots, identified them as Muslims, killed them and threw their bodies in the drain.
“Their modus operandi was: they used to catch the people and ascertain their religion by asking name, address and by their document ie Identity Card,” the charge sheets say.
The police also say that victims were forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” several times.
“They (the accused) were forcing them to call ‘Jai Shri Ram’ many times.”Delhi Riots charge sheet 103/40
“The person who was not calling ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and had a Muslim identity were bluntly attacked and thrown into the Main Ganda Nala, Bhagirathi Vihar,” the charge sheet adds.
Unanswered Questions
- The police claims that the ‘Kattar Hindut Ekta’ WhatsApp group was formed only on “25 February at 12.49 hours” and the idea was to “take revenge on Muslims”, indicating that this was a reaction and not pre-planned. However, Lokesh’s comments that they have “bullets, guns, all the stuff” indicates that the preparations were made in advance.
- Several numbers in the WhatsApp chat cited such as 9********7, 95*******6, 97*******6 and 7********4 have not been identified or named in the three charge sheets. This, despite the fact that they were active participants in the Kattar Hindut Ekta group and one of them was even requesting for bullets. The Quint reached out to one of them, who said that the police hasn’t even called him for questioning so far.
- Nisar Ahmed, one of the eyewitnesses cited in the three charge sheets, had filed a detailed complaint at Gokulpuri police station regarding the violence at Bhagirathi Vihar. However, many of the names in his complaint don’t figure in the three charge sheets. The most significant omission is that of BJP councillor Kanhaiya Lal, Some names from Ahmed’s complaint find mention in the charge sheet, but not BJP’s Kanhaiya Lal.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)